I Gotta Go
"I Gotta Go" is a BOTGD 2 thread written on DATE. Summary Liam has to pee and he and Verdandi come across a stranger, Deoiridh, who wants to get to Haligan. Full Text Liam Arnason: '“Hey…Verdandi, we gotta land.” Verdandi exhales softly. “Why?” she asks. '''Liam: '''The wind whistled past their ears for what had to be a full minute. “I…I gotta…I need to go.” '''Verdandi: '''She snorts, and has to resist the urge to bury her face in Liam’s shoulder and give in to helpless peals of laughter. “Y-yeah, alright,” she says, shoving down a giggle. '''Liam: '''Liam flushed hard and did his best to urge the Changewing to the ground, which flapped and squawked in protest, but eventually they were gliding across the ground. This part of the Frostbitten Fields was still…well, Frostbitten, but they found a knot of windblown trees and skidded to a rough stop. The dragon rumbled and immediately shoveled down a mouthful of snow, its sides heaving hard for air. Liam immediately launched himself off the dragon, his legs twinging in protest, and all but waddled behind the nearest tree, growling, “Don’t go anywhere!” behind him. '''Verdandi: '''Verdandi slides off the dragon’s back, muffling a laugh behind her hand. Liam just looks so… ''petulant, ''and it’s far funnier than it ought to be. She blames the stress of the last couple days. Despite her best efforts, she starts laughing harder, eventually landing in her knees on the snow, arms wrapped around her middle as she giggles madly. '''Liam: '“SHUT THE HEL UP!” 'Deoiridh Tuathanach: '''The shout was followed by the sound of four sharp whistles and a loud bestial cry of pain and then a loud thump. Turning around Liam would see a hobblegrunt with an arrow in its tail, its wing, its eye, and it’s neck. “Good thing ah was ‘round, else that ‘ad be the last piss ye had on this earth!” A voice called as a figure flipped down from a tree, the hood of her cloak over her head. '''Liam: '“Fucking–!” Liam yanked his pants up and tied them around his waist again, scrambling backwards and tripping on the scrub, landing roughly in the snow. He blew his scarf out of his face and looked up in wild indignation, sputtering. “What the Hel–who are you??” he yelled. 'Verdandi: '''At the shouting, Verdandi comes running towards them, her shortbow at the ready. “Liam?!” Skidding to a halt, she asks, “Are you alright?” Turning to the newcomer, she blinks a few times. “And, um, who are you?” '''Deoiridh: '''She frowned as she placed her bow on her back once more and the handful of arrows she had back into a quiver at her side. “How about, ‘thank ye kind stranger for savin’ me arse from a dragen the woulda sure chomped off me knob.’” She said as she went over and wrenched the arrows from the beast’s hide. As she sees Verdandi rush over to Liam she pulls down her hood, curly red hair spilling down her shoulders. “Oh are you his little mate? Deoiridh is muh name.” She says with a grin. '''Liam: '“I’m not anyone’s mate,” ''he snapped, getting back to his feet. “I don’t mean to be rude, but fuck off, don’t sneak up on people taking a piss, dipshit.” '''Verdandi: '''With a deep sigh, Verdandi slings her bow across her shoulder. “We’re… traveling together. Not sure if we can be considered friends or not.” Forcing a smile, she says, “I’m Verdandi, by the way.” Giving Liam a pointed look, she adds, “And ''thank you for taking care of… that.” She vaguely waves a hand at the dead dragon. 'Deoiridh: '''She grins again, “Oh that? That was nothin’ not meanest and certainly not the largest beasty I’ve taken down. Pleasure to meet a fellow bowman.” She says to Verdandi. “Can’t say the same for you piss pants.” She smirks as she looks over at Liam again. It slowly falls into a frown as she stares at him a moment too long before shaking her head and turning to the woman. “So, where ye headin’ to?” She asks. '''Liam: '“You didn’t tell me who you were,” Liam retorted. “As far as I know, you’re an ass-licking Conclave half-breed headhunter, and until you can prove you’re not, you’ll have a hard time getting me to answer any of your questions.” 'Deoiridh: '“Piss pants the ladies are talkin’ here.” She said barely looking over her shoulder before turning back to Verdandi. 'Verdandi: '''Verdandi can’t help it–she lets out an inelegant snort. “Liam, we’re in the middle of ''nowhere. And, um, if she was a Central agent, why wouldn’t she have just let the dragon eat you?” Scowling, she mutters, “One less ‘undesirable’, in their eyes.” Giving herself a shake, Verdandi smiles brightly. “We’re headed to Haligan Island.” 'Deoiridh: '''She frowned again as she heard that name and pressed a hand to her temple. After hearing Halligan though she straightened up and grinned. “Right then, ah’m coming with ye.” She said as she began walking towards were Verdandi came from. '''Liam: '“Yeah, uh, no, you’re not.” Liam stepped directly in front of the girl and folded his arms, lip curled. “I’ve got one nagging archer on this roadtrip, I don’t need two.” 'Verdandi: '''Verdandi flinches, hurt written across every feature. “Fine,” she says in a watery voice. “If that’s what you think, maybe I should’ve taken Fraener and left without you.” Inhaling shakily, she looks at Deoiridh. “He’s not big enough for three people.” She frowns, spreading her hands. “Sorry.” '''Deoiridh: '''Seeing such an adverse reaction Deoiridh frowns but then smirks and gives her a sly wink. “That’s fine, we’ll just leave piss pants here, he don’t seem to pleased to be with either of us so he can walk.” She keeps walking towards the dragon, urging Verdandi to follow. '''Liam: '“You can’t leave me behind,” Liam snapped, stalking up behind them. “Neither of you even know where Haligan is.” 'Verdandi: '''At that, Verdandi’s temper boils over. She spins on her heel. “You know what, Liam? I’ve had enough. I have had ''enough of this. I get that you miss your friend, and that you want to get to Haligan, but I can’t deal with this anymore!” Letting out a ragged breath, she reaches out and shoves at Liam’s chest. “And I was a messenger, do you really think I don’t have a rough idea of where the island is?” With tears glimmering in her eyes, she turns around. “I want to be your friend, Liam, but you’re not making that easy.” 'Liam: '''Liam stepped backwards with the push, his expression changing from anger to dismayed shock. He was finally confronted face-to-face with Verdandi’s hurt feelings, and he was…uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. He looked down at her, tearing up at his words, and felt a sharp lance of remorse pierce his gut. He was also upset that she’d mentioned Nala, because as soon as she did, he could track his foul mood throughout the past day, starting with her sudden absence, and it made him angry. ''What am I, a fucking baby? I can be without her for more than a few hours. Right? “Fine, okay.” He muttered the words to his feet. “You guys do whatever, then.” '''Deoiridh: ''Ah tits. She cursed in her head. She hated when people were genuinely remorseful, it was harder to mess with them with a clean conscience. “Look just, take the dragen and go on to Haligan, I’ll meet ye there. And just stop bein’ a right arsehole Liam.” '''Liam: '''Pride still wounded and stinging, Liam shook his head mutely and walked past the girl, following behind Verdandi as she continued back to the Changewing. He pulled up short behind her, still staring at the ground, and muttered, “You…want to be my friend?” The tone of his voice indicated he’d experienced no kind of attention of the sort, not for a long time, anyway. '''Verdandi: '“I… yeah,” Verdandi whispers. “I don’t have a lot of friends. And you… you’re hurting, and I want to help.” Almost under her breath, she adds, “I don’t get that choice most of the time.” Memories–or a memory of a dream?–flash through her head, of bloody battlefields and dead friends, and Verdandi has to give herself a shake. 'Liam: '''Liam hugged his elbows and kept staring at the ground, his face burning. He felt…queasy, almost, but somehow it wasn’t a bad thing. “Nobody’s really wanted…to do that for me.” He took a nervous breath. “I’m…I’m sorry.” '''Verdandi: '''Verdandi turns to look at him, feeling like her heart is turning over in her chest. “It’s okay,” she murmurs. “I can’t blame you,” she says. Hesitantly, she steps closer, lightly wrapping her arms around Liam’s shoulders. '''Liam: '''Liam broke out into a hot sweat despite the frigid landscape and quickly stepped backwards, disengaging and hugging himself tighter as he skirted around Verdandi towards the dragon. “W-we don’t have a lot of time, we need to warn everyone about…about what’s-his-nuts,” he stammered. ''And find Nala. 'Verdandi: '''Verdandi feels a twinge of sadness at Liam’s avoidance, but she nods. “Yeah… you’re right,” she says, trailing after him. '''Deoiridh: '''Deoiridh sighed as she watched Liam pull away from the contact. ‘He’s always been so angry since his Da left.’ It took her a moment to process the thought and when she did she blinked and wondered where it came from. “Hold up a tick, what is we warnin’ who aboot?” '''Liam: '"There's some...crazy guy that keeps coming to life and attacking us, and my...friend..." He grumbled to himself as he mounted the Changewing. Damn, now I have to explain Nala to someone else, too. "She left without telling us what to do. We've got lots of people on Haligan that could help, though." Category:Events Category:BOTGD 2 Category:Liam Arnason Category:Verdandi Østergård Category:Deoiridh Tuathanach